Brand India is on a roll – The West getting even more interested?

Amidst all the recession and the economic downturn hulla boo in recent times , one major positive has been the resurgence of India as a nation to reckon with. Not that India was not walking shoulder to shoulder (at least in some areas) with the global leaders, but the recent downturn made India stand out as a comparatively insulated economy in the global marketplace.

We had our share of losses and downfall but then we are the first ones coming out of the rut. The industrial growth numbers are looking up , the stock markets are doing comparatively well, SME and SMB sector is on the growth highway. More than that, the past year has seen a flurry of entrepreneurs leaving the corporate whoredom which again is a positive for any economy.

However, a few recent events that transpired got me thinking that Brand India is gaining traction and doing it real fast. The world is looking up to us as one of the underexploited marketplace with immense potential. The events may not be of significant importance and scale but the message is delivered loud and clear,

Brand India is a name to reckon with

Volkswagen comes to India in style

The German carmaker Volkswagen AG has embarked on a Rs. 40 crore ad campaign to build its brand in the run-up to its December launch of small car Beetle and sports utility vehicle Touareg and the January launch of another small car, the Polo.

The campaign partner TOI created a one of its kind print roadblock for Volkswagen brands to increase the visibility of Volkswagen before it hits the road. The campaign drew a lot of flak from the readers and was marred by controversy (cached link) but still created a buzz around Volkswagen.

Volkswagen has even set up a manufacturing unit in Pune for production of one of it cars -Polo. Considering all these, the message is loud and clear from Volkswagen

We are dead serious about Indian Markets (Small Car explains that) and we are ready to make inroads (40 crore for ad campaign is substantial by any standards)

TechCrunch goes ga-ga over India Inc

The epitome of cutting edge technology news is the holy grail for Startups and VC’s alike. The news that goes live on TechCrunch can become a trend in no time. No matter what (and he has enough detractors), Michael Arrington pulls a lot of clout in the Silicon Valley – And now with Indian centric articles being featured so very frequently, it does speaks volumes about the visibility of Indian Companies in the west.

TechCrunch ran insightful articles featuring MakeMyTrip andÂ NIIT recently which show Indian companies taking centre stage. A recent article by Vivek Wadhwa on India becoming a Global R&D Hub is a shot in the arm. It signifies that India truly has the potential to become a Creator rather merely being a supporter (via Outsourcing) .

The world is keenly following Indian Shores and is in awe of it, even though it is hard to digest for some

These two events may not be a testimony to the fact that Brand India is set for Glory days , but the way I see it, we are sure taking the right steps. We have our shortcomings and a lot of them. But, even with these shortcomings and limitations(primarily infrastructure), Indians are setting the global stage on fire.

On a rather sad note, it is disheartening to see that even when the world is recognizing the potential of Brand India , we are still fighting over petty things like regionalism, language etc (you get the hint) .

The onus should be on providing a free flourishing ecosystem where creativity can breed freely and India can shun its developing country and transform into a world power.

The west is definitely in awe and does not look up to India merely as a place to get dirty work done for cheap (yeah, that’s outsourcing for you :) ) .

Hello Ankit, I truly agree, the past few months have shown that India is a resilient growth story, and with all the doomsday downturn talk around the world, India was indeed â€˜shiningâ€™ and the world is taking notice. Besides western companies getting active in India, we are increasingly seeing Indian home grown companies emerging as global players..be it IT, or Pharmaâ€¦or conglomerates like Tataâ€™s. Why..I never thought that India would have a global company in the financial space alsoâ€¦but just read an expansive article in the Business Standard Strategist about another Indian company – Religare which is planning big in the global financial world.

Hello Ankit,
>The so called regionalism and language discrimination is a huge barrier
If you mean language of brand building, as English has become standard for Corporate India. If you mean language for social life, then it is completely different topic and not related to your post.
>I am not sure how this equates to competition
It is a competition, between states, who is better, which finally leads to a better India, which is the ultimate aim. But I agree, forcing people out based of race, religion, language should not be done. But rather, states should try to attract and retain talent from other states, and assimilate them.
> we cannot compete at a regional level when the need is to compete globally.
I strongly disagree here. This is the main problem. A competition is competition from who ever it comes from. In my opinion, even cities within a state should compete. It is like LG and Samsung.
>We should not be tied down and spend time on discussing if a particular place should have only one language and things like that.
Those who build brand India, are not the ones involved in these petty things. :) Those guys are never going to do anything anyway.
>Merit should be the only criteria.
I hope you are not talking about Railway and Banking Recruitment Boards :) With this globalized world, merit will be the only criteria, even if we wish it to be otherwise.

At the same time, what I mean is, we cannot ignore the real issues for the sake of building a brand. Our lives are important first. To be strong, we need to resolve the issues, not hide it.

I couldn’t prevent myself from thinking of a example. A family, just for sake of getting a name as good family, if it hides all issues and do a show off, the member will suffer personally and the family will grow weak. Instead, if they don’t care about name, and can resolve all issues, then they will march ahead for long time as family, for sure. US civil war and USSR are examples.

Apart from this, what I want to mention is those two lines just sit out of context in your entire article. May be you could have explained it better, so that we could understand the context. If we have to discuss about language enforcement, that should be very well a different from this energetic article.

I understand your POV.I mentioned language enforcement as one of the stigma that is not good for the society as a whole.
For example: If a state enforces that only the aborgines must be allowed to work and outsiders are not welcomed, Which corporate would want to come and invest in the particular city/state.
However, i agree that i could have explained it better or rather did a seperate post about it.The last few lines stemmed from the angst over the MNS actions over the past few months and i wanted to include that to state that rather than fighting over these petty matters,the government and all people should work towards buliding the brand India.
I apoligise if the last two lines went out of context.It is this feedback and discussion which motivates me to do better.
Would like to see you participate and provide feedback in my future articles too

The article is coherent except at the place where you have touched the issue of regionalism and language. To be better and stronger, it is very much needed to resolve the internal glitches(any issue for that part). That’s what is making up the democratic India. That’s the difference between China and India.

There is nothing to worry in, that we are fighting internally. That has to happen. That is natural. We can’t hide the real issues just because we want to project brand India. And FYI., I think India is too big to fall apart, in case, if that is your fear.

At the same time, regional competition is very much needed and it is happening internationally. There will always be some regions that will excel and be forefront for the entire country. It is not possible to avoid that. Example, California in US, Bavaria in Germany. All we need to consider is how to turn this regionalism and language pride in a good way and get the best out of it.

Nationalism and other feelings doesn’t make sense here. Being rationalistic, is not going to affect anything. I mean, for example, whats wrong if a brand Maharashtra or brand Bihar comes out. Nothing. It is still India. It will invoke competition and India as a whole will be better. Always.

With all due respect, i do not agree to your stand.The so called regionalism and language discrimination is a huge barrier.I am not sure how this equates to competition.we cannot compete at a regional level when the need is to compete globally.

We should not be tied down and spend time on discussing if a particular place should have only one language and things like that.Merit should be the only criteria.
I hope i make my stand clear.However, i am open for discussion :)